Swordsman, Philosopher, Poet – Cyrano de Bergerac is all these things, but none of them makes him happy. What he longs for is the love of the beautiful Roxane. But his problem is as plain as the nose on his face. Surely he is too ugly to be loved?

This new staging of Edmond Rostand’s classic sees one of theatre’s greatest roles played by one of our most exciting and innovative stage actors – Olivier award-winner Kathryn Hunter. As Cyrano, Hunter leads an all-female cast that includes Ellie Kendrick (Game of Thrones, Misfits) and Sabrina Bartlett (Poldark) in Glyn Maxwell’s witty and heartbreaking adaptation.

“One of the true modern masters of the craft of poetry” Simon Armitage on Glyn Maxwell

And praise for Russell Bolam’s previous work at Southwark Playhouse:

“Russell Bolam’s beautiful acted and designed production” The Independent on Shivered

“Directed with the lightest of touches by Russell Bolam…in a year of remarkable Chekhov revivals, this Seagull flies with the best” The Guardian on The Seagull

“A vivid production by Russell Bolam, full of lovely performances…a funny, moving and humane staging” Financial Times on Three Sisters

“Nobody does dystopia on the small-scale better than Bolam” Whatsonstage on Crushed Shells and Mud

“Russell Bolam’s production makes a virtue of simplicity…its chief fascination is Hunter’s Cyrano. It’s a performance that confirms what we already knew: that Hunter is an astonishing shape-shifting performer who can play just about anything.”The Guardian

“Long-limbed but diminutive, with a nose like a snowman’s carrot and a voice like a melodious foghorn, Kathryn Hunter’s Cyrano has the ferocious charm and underlying melancholy of a character from fairytale: Rumpelstiltskin with a tender heart.”The Daily Telegraph

“Kathryn Hunter’s body is an instrument. Though she’s tiny, there’s something gravitational about her: she’s impossible not to watch…Her Cyrano, liquorice-limbed and faintly bird-like, might have sprung from the minds of the Chapman Brothers.”The Stage

“An all-female cast such as this is surely the way to deal with the ongoing issue of gender (im)balance in the theatre: have women playing men’s parts, with no heavy-handed sex changes for characters, just as men used to play the women’s roles in Shakespeare.”Evening Standard